1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, control method thereof, and computer-readable medium and, more particularly, to control for sharing the status of a print job in a print system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A digital photo print system is formed from subsystems such as an order management system, print management system, and printer. The order management system receives an Internet order from the home PC (Personal Computer: to be referred to as a PC hereinafter) of an end user, or a print order in a DPE shop. The print order is transferred as a print job to each subsystem. The print management system converts the print job into a format processable by a predetermined printer. The converted print job is printed out by a dedicated printer installed in a place (laboratory) where printing is actually performed. In this system, the respective subsystems are often installed in places spaced apart from each other.
For example, when an error such as a paper jam occurs in a printer, a conventional print system reports the error to a host computer. There is a technique capable of correctly continuing printing after an error generation portion by reporting a print page on which the error has occurred, in addition to an error type such as a paper jam (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-224778).
In the digital photo print system, when the order management system transfers a print job containing a job error, the subsequent print management system outputs an instruction to the printer to cancel the print job. In the conventional technique, the print management system notifies the order management system at an upper level that the error regarding the print job has occurred and the cause is a job error, or that the print job has been canceled. However, the printer at a lower level in print processing recognizes only that a cancel instruction to the print job has been issued.
Therefore, a display mismatch occurs between the subsystems. For example, the display unit of the print management system displays a job error, and that of the printer displays job cancellation. The printer cannot recognize the situation in which the cancel instruction has been issued. Also, even when the user cancels a print job issued from each upper subsystem, for example, the printer serving as a lower subsystem cannot recognize the situation in which the cancel instruction has been issued.
In other words, the reason of job cancellation cannot be shared between the devices. Particularly, the respective subsystems are often installed in places spaced apart from each other. It is very inconvenient for an end user, operator, or the like who actually operates each subsystem, that the reason of job cancellation cannot be shared.